M&S Interchange Bedford

We started in October 2015 feeding the homeless, rootless and in need on a Saturday. We now run a Social Supermarket on Tuesdays 12 - 2, a fresh fruit and vegetable food bank on Thursdays 12 - 2 all from surplus food from Supermarkets and Saturdays we serve hot food 5 - 6pm. We currently run 5 projects. Our first project is Dine With Us on The Streets - Cherries Legacy where we support between 80 to 100 people with hot hearty food, take away food such as tins, sandwiches, crisps, fruit, hot drinks, toiletries and clothes, every Saturday These are people who are either street homeless, in hostels, on means tested benefits or in other financial crisis. We have been running this project since October 2015 and we believe in treating people with respect and with dignity. Our second project is Dine With Us Community Larder, our Food Bank project ,launched in February 2019, giving access to vital nourishment for those suffering food poverty. The need for this is much greater than we anticipated and we now need more partners so we can ensure that we have enough food to meet the demand. We are also incurring significant costs operating the programme, with the yearly rent on the unit, running costs and other sundries. We have seen as many as 75 (seventy five) families come to collect food in a single day. Our third project sees us support 11 schools with more looking to come on board (which we cannot commit to yet as we do not have enough food). Fresh fruit and vegetables and protein play a pivotal part in our organisation, as is encouraging people to eat more healthily, regardless of their circumstances. Our fourth project is sending out care packages to the community, quite often through the schools as well and our fifth project is opening and running Bedfords first Social Supermarket which has been in operation since April 2020. This gives people access to affordable food and provides a fundraising vehicle for us, to help towards the other projects we run on a goodwill basis.

Open to all, Flitwick Community Fridge is open 09:30-11:30 and 14:30-17:30 Monday through Friday, and 09:30 to 12:30 on Saturdays. We work to reduce food waste and support those affected by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. All services are free. We offer a community fridge (providing fresh food), a modest community larder, and regular cookery courses to people living locally. Flitwick Town Council hosts and provides this service with support from a team of fantastic volunteers. To find out more about the Flitwick Community Fridge, donate or volunteer, please visit https://bit.ly/3W82MmX or contact Sue Quinn, Community Services Officer, at 01525 631900 or email communityservices@flitwick.gov.uk.

The Share Shack at Grange Academy takes surplus food from local stores, sorts it and distributes it among 50+ families of students each week. We also have started reaching out to to the local community to supply other people with food too.